28th International Congress of Psychology August 8 ... - U-netSURF

students. This pattern of findings replicates recent data from studies with Western samples, and
lends additional support to the health benefits associated with optimism. The cross-cultural
implications of this were discussed.
4122.5 Studies of differential stress responses in the Grossarth-Maticek personality types, Carlo
Caponecchia, R.F. Soames Job, Julie Hatfield, School of Psychology, University of Sydney,
Australia
The longitudinal Grossarth-Maticek studies suggested that particular personality types were prone
to particular health outcomes. The proposed mechanism of stress has not been systematically
investigated as an outcome measure in context of the typology. We report a series of studies which
show predicted differences between Grossarth-Maticek Types in terms of self-reported stress and
mood, and salivary cortisol, in response to potential stressors (lab-based maths task and academic
exams). Comparisons of cortisol responses to relaxation are also reported. Implications of these
results for future investigation of Grossarth-Maticek theory, and for understanding
personality-stress-disease interactions are discussed.
4122.6 Traumatic stress in parents of children with cancer, Annika Lindahl-Norberg, Krister
K Boman, Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Parents of children with cancer (n=449) reported stress symptoms with respect to their child’s
disease, through the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Almost all parents reported
symptoms to some degree. The IES-R is commonly used to assess symptoms of posttraumatic
stress. Parents can certainly be considered to be post-trauma as they are likely to have had
traumatic experiences. At the same time, they are continuously exposed to disease-related stressors.
Thus, symptoms may express posttraumatic stress, as well as reactions to present stressors.
Intrusion and avoidance may also relate to the concepts of accommodation and assimilation in
normal stressor processing.
4122.7 Individual differences in oral sensation predict long-term health risk, Derek Snyder 1 ,
Linda Bartoshuk 2 , 1 Yale University, USA; 2 Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Human oral sensation shows broad genetic variation predicted by oral anatomy and
6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness: Supertasters, having many taste buds, find PROP
extremely bitter; nontasters, having few, find PROP tasteless. Oral sensation shapes food choices
that modulate extended health risk: Supertasters avoid bitter vegetables containing phytochemicals,
increasing cancer risk; nontasters prefer sweet-fat foods that promote elevated body mass and
cardiovascular risk. Taste loss disinhibits oral pain and touch, producing phantom sensations in
supertasters (e.g., burning mouth syndrome); early damage (e.g., ear infections) biases male diets
toward adult obesity risk. We believe that oral sensation significantly influences complex
behavioral health outcomes.
4122.8 A study of the relationships among stressors in school work, coping strategies and
psychological health in secondary school students, Xu Chen, Da-jun Zhang, China
This study is to examine the relationships among stressors in school work, coping strategies and
psychological health in secondary school students, based on incidents of general and specific
stress in school work. The results indicated that: (1) There was significantly positive correlation
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